The Will To Protect
by carzla
Summary: [AU] He didn't waste a second. As soon as Urahara and Yoruichi took over, he dashed over to her house. She was in danger and he had to protect her... and not just because it was his duty.
1. Prologue

_**The Will To Protect**_

_Prologue _

_Disclaimer:_

_I do not own BLEACH. It belongs to Kubo Tite. This story contains spoilers of the manga chapters 195 and up. If you have not read thus far in the manga or you only watch the anime and do not wish to be spoiled, feel free to click the back button. To fit this plot, the timeline has been tweaked. Also, do not sue if you do not like the pairing. Feel free to hit the back button at any point. I only own this plot. Thank you.

* * *

_

**Full Summary:**

**He didn**'**t waste a second. As soon as Urahara and Yoruichi took over, he made a dash over to her house. If what the exiled shinigami said was true, it meant that she was in danger too**…** He had to protect her from them. And it wasn**'**t just because of his duty**…

* * *

As soon as he sensed the arrival of the Allankar, his first concern wasn't about reverting to his shinigami form. In fact, it was far from the simple task of popping a Soul Candy into his mouth to expel his soul from his gigai.

His mind was on _her._

He was worried about _her_.

'Her' being one of Ichigo's high school friends.

'Her' being Arisawa Tatsuki.

If the situation wasn't already so tense, Renji could've smacked himself. Why in the world was he worrying about that human girl, albeit one with some amount of spiritual power, when there was also an Allankar heading for _him_? Besides, she didn't have enough spiritual power to pose a threat to the Allankars. He had pressing concerns himself too, considering the Allankar _had_ just appeared before him. Well, he had no time to think about her anymore. If he wanted to live, he had to fight this Allankar… and win.

His opposition charged at him, zanpakutou drawn. Renji drew out his Zabimaru and blocked the attack. The surging amount of spirit power through both zanpakutous caused a small explosion and both spiritual beings jumped apart to avoid the aftershocks. Renji was preparing a second attack when he heard someone call him.

"Abarai-san! Leave this to us!"

Despite knowing it was a stupid move, Renji spared a quick glance behind him to see Urahara and Yoruichi. Urahara had his zanpakutou out and Yoruichi was in her ninja battle outfit. Then in a flash, Yoruichi was beside him and Urahara had gone ahead to engage the Allankar in combat.

"Yoruichi-san! Are y-"

"We can take him, Renji. The Allankars aren't just aiming for you shinigamis and Ichigo."

"_What?_" At Yoruichi's words, which held grim undercurrents, he felt a chill run down his spine and his grip on Zabimaru tightened. If they weren't going to target just the shinigamis, it meant that they were no doubt going to attack…

"That's right. They're going to kill _anyone_ who has even half a speck of spiritual power," Urahara added, as he gracefully – almost leisurely – jumped away from an impending strike. "I suggest that you should go and protect the weaker ones." He turned back to send a powerful blast towards his opponent.

Renji couldn't help it. His mind reverted automatically back to her and his initial worry sprang back, and attacked him with ten times the original power. Shit. This was bad. Very bad. Knowing Tatsuki's nature from what he had seen so far, she would never run away from a fight, especially one who could give her a good contest. At least not until she had tried to defeat them and realized that she _really _couldn't. Even then, Renji wasn't very sure the female spitfire would have the sense to just put down her pride and run far, far away.

"Then I'll leave it to you two," he said to Yoruichi and Urahara as he bounded up to the rooftop. He barely heard the duo's reply as he had broke off into a run towards the general direction of Tatsuki's house.

As he ran and leapt over dozens of rooftops, Renji couldn't help but pray and hope fervently that the Allankar had not arrived yet. Or if it had… well, he just hoped that Tatsuki would run… and run at _breakneck_ speed. But somehow he couldn't fathom the black-haired tomboy escaping just because of an Allankar's appearance; something that she didn't know actually existed.

Renji had first noticed Tatsuki as she was constantly around Orihime. He soon found out that they were best friends and that due to Orihime being the number one target of the class' sex-crazed lesbian, Chizuru, Tatsuki was constantly putting the redhead female in her place. Which was, of course, in the form of harsh punches or kicks. He also knew firsthand that she rarely backed down from anything that threatened (or seemed to threaten in his case) her and her friends' safety no matter how large the odds were against her.

It was something he admired; yet he knew that trait of hers would undoubtedly cost Tatsuki her life in the impending situation…

* * *

_It had been the shinigamis' fifth day at Karakura High School. They were still getting accustomed to the ways of modern life… and the most infuriating thing they had all encountered so far was still the **darned juice pack**._

_Ichigo had starkly refused to show them how to open the juice pack after the first time. So it was left to just Rukia, who had **finally** learnt how to open it after having stayed in the human realm for a few months before, and Hitsugaya, who had gotten the hang of it after two tries ("Tensai…" Ikkaku had muttered sulkily), to help the rest who were still struggling with the fiddly things even after five days._

_Unfortunately, that Friday, he had been alone when he encountered the tricky pack again. After trying valiantly to open it for about ten minutes, Renji was close to giving up when Orihime appeared. Despite knowing that the orange-haired girl could be quite the airhead, he decided that there was no harm in asking her for help. It would be less embarrassing than asking Hitsugaya or even Rukia. And although he found the object tricky, he was relatively sure that it wouldn't cause as much trouble as a Hollow on a soul-hunting spree._

_"Eh, Inoue-san, could you help me with this juice pack?"_

_"Of course, Renji-kun!" the girl replied cheerily as she took the pack from him. Sometimes Renji wondered where she got all her energy from even after getting injured very badly by the first two Allankars._

_As Orihime was removing the straw, she asked, "Renji-kun… Why are you and the other shinigamis here? Is Kurosaki-kun going to be in trouble?"_

_"Why do you ask?"_

_"Because Kurosaki-kun wouldn't tell me anything… And I know you all still have a lot to do in Soul Society after the three captains' betrayal…"_

_Renji noticed that Orihime had poked the straw into the, he presumed, correct place a little harsher than what was required and guessed that it was her nerves working on overdrive that caused the less than gentle ministration on the juice pack. This girl was really worried about Ichigo. Still, he had to reassure her. It'd do no good if she freaked out and placed herself in greater danger._

_"Don't worry, Inoue-san. He'll be fine." Renji placed a hand on Orihime's shoulder to comfort her as his other hand reached out for the juice pack Orihime was holding out to him._

_Unfortunately for him, at that moment Tatsuki appeared, and took the wrong signal from the fact that his hand was on Orihime's shoulder. In what seemed like less than a second, Tatsuki was in front of him and had pulled Orihime behind her. She had a deep scowl on her face and a death glare that, in his opinion, was fairly reminiscent of Captain Kuchiki's. Well, if he could hold his captain's death glares, hers was nothing to be worried about._

_"Look here Abarai, I don't care if you're the new hotshot around here and that the girls are falling flat at your feet. If you try anything funny on Orihime, you'll have to deal with me first. Got it?" she snarled at him and he felt her spiritual power flare._

_"You're reading things too deeply Arisawa. I'm not planning on 'trying anything funny' Inoue-san. Stop being so overprotective. It's not like you can always protect her!" The last bit was very true. If whatever was attacking Orihime was a Hollow or some spiritual being, Tatsuki would be more of a hindrance to Orihime. Of course, he couldn't let Tatsuki know that since it would require a lot more of explaining than he would like to do._

_"Are you **doubting** my ability to protect Orihime, Abarai? Want a match right here, right now? I'll prove to you that I'm more than capable!"_

_"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime protested. "You don't have to! Renji-kun was-"_

_Orihime's words were cut short when Tatsuki launched herself at him. Not wanting to attack a female, Renji had stepped out of the way, neatly avoiding the punch. However, he soon realized that Tatsuki was persistent as she had almost immediately turned and aimed a kick at him, which he easily blocked due to his shinigami reflexes. It wasn't a fair fight, and he didn't want to hurt anyone unnecessarily._

_Yet Tatsuki continued her pursuit, unrelenting in her attacks. Renji was impressed by her determination, however he wasn't in the mood for dealing with this fight and sought to end it as quickly as possible. With a few deft moves on his part, Tatsuki was panting on the ground, though still glaring up at him._

_Walking away from both girls, he called back, "I'll say it again: You're reading too much into it. See you around Arisawa, Inoue-san."_

_"Ah… Bye, Renji-kun!"_

_"This is **far** from over, Abarai!"_

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­And it really wasn't over. He had a few more brushes with the girl, sometimes in the classroom and sometimes out of it. During all their encounters, be it in or out of the classroom of Class 1-3, it had never ended amicably. Apparently, Tatsuki prided herself as being the best fighter in Karakura High and therefore took her defeat to him as a blow to her pride. Thus most of their encounters out of class always had something to do with their first fight.

Strangely, with each of their encounters, he began to respect and like the girl even more. She was not only quick with her movements during combat, she had a sharp tongue too and Renji soon decided that even verbal sparring with Tatsuki was an interesting challenge that he derived much amusement from. It also helped him work on his responses to her jibes, which he decided that it could be rather useful when he returned to Soul Society. Through all their run-ins, Renji was starting to see why Rukia had changed after staying in the human world. If Rukia had been associating with the bunch of people from Ichigo's class, it was extremely easy to see the reason. Not to mention she had to act 'normal' to prevent anyone from suspecting of her origins.

He paused on a rooftop to detect the spiritual auras in his surroundings. He wasn't exactly sure of where Tatsuki's house was; he just knew the general direction. A few moments later, Renji had successfully picked up and zoned in on her spirit pressure and was very relieved to know that no Allankar had arrived yet. However, there was a foreign and sinister aura heading rapidly towards the vicinity of Tatsuki's home. Renji picked up his pace, putting his developing shunpo to good use.

Renji just hoped that Tatsuki wouldn't be so damned stubborn when he told her to run.

* * *

Tatsuki lay back on her bed, her hands pillowing her head as she stared up at the ceiling. The past week or so had been somewhat interesting and rather infuriating at the same time. Her class had five new students, four males and one female. And all five were strange in their own way… and that was when she disregarded the fact that they all knew Ichigo and Rukia, who had mysteriously reappeared after disappearing without a trace and disappearing from everyone's memory except hers, Orihime's and most likely Ichigo's. She momentarily wondered why it was _her_ class that was getting new transfer students. The classroom had barely enough space to accommodate any more tables!

Anyway, back to the new students.

Firstly, the female student – Matsumoto Rangiku. For one thing, her top was way too small for her… and she had already unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. Despite knowing that whoever became the next target of Chizuru would be, undeniably, very unlucky, when Matsumoto walked in, Tatsuki couldn't help but hope that Chizuru would stop trying to 'seduce' Orihime and pursue the new girl instead. After seeing how Matsumoto handled Keigo, Tatsuki decided that Matsumoto was more than capable of fending off Chizuru. Her unexpected punch had sent Keigo sprawling on the floor in an unsightly heap. He was then unable to move for a very, very long time.

Next, Madarame Ikkaku. The guy was _bald_ for heaven's sake. Who was bald at the age of _fifteen_? Well, she wasn't that stupid to point it out, especially after seeing what he did to the unfortunate classmate who had mentioned it – **twice**. It was obvious from that incident he was well versed in martial arts and could handle a real sword despite the one he had then was a wooden one. Madarame was definitely a rough sort of person, which made the next thing about him _extremely_ weird.

He was a buddy of Ayasegawa Yumichika.

Tatsuki wouldn't go as far as to say that Ayasegawa was a sissy. But the guy could definitely be described as beautiful without one feeling odd at the description. He was almost feminine… what with that strange feather-like object from his eyelash… In her opinion, Ayasegawa seemed like the type who would fret over a broken fingernail. Thus she couldn't see how Madarame and Ayasegawa could be such good friends when they seemed to be on the opposite ends of the electromagnetic spectrum. But she wasn't about to analyze them to figure it out.

Then there was the short, _white-haired_ student, Hitsugaya Toushirou. He looked much too young to be in high school (she thought he was a primary school kid who had wandered into the wrong school at first until she noticed that he was wearing their school uniform) and had some sort of an attitude problem too. He barely listened in class, but she soon found out that it was perfectly fine and very much justified for him. He was a **_genius_**, and extremely quick-witted. Ochi-sensei, as strange and ditzy as she could be, had actually noticed his inattentiveness and had called him up several times in hopes of catching him off guard with a question.

**_Every_** attempt backfired.

And he left the whole class – plus Ochi-sensei – immensely impressed.

Another thing she found strange about Hitsugaya was that he seemed to be the leader of the five new students despite being vertically challenged and how he seemed to be very much younger than the rest. Matsumoto was the one who seemed to respect him the most although she had a flamboyant way around the male, which Tatsuki decided was the strangest thing about Hitsugaya _and_ Matsumoto. But Hitsugaya had a commanding aura surrounding him that demanded respect from everyone. The other four listened to what he said almost indefinitely, though there was the odd command that went unheeded… to usually dire results for the person who didn't listen to him. He had also effectively put Keigo in his place when the latter had teased him about his height. _("If being taller equates to having the maturity of a pre-school kid, I'd gladly stay short. Thank you very much.")_

Lastly, there was Abarai Renji. Tatsuki scowled at the mere thought of his name. She personally felt that Abarai was the strangest out of the lot. He had shocking red hair that was tied up (he was as easily noticeable as Ichigo, if not more so), weird black tattoos that seemed to replace his eyebrows and she bet that he had the same kind of tattoos over his body too. Somewhat like those punks out on the streets these days. He was loud, brash and somewhat rude. Grudgingly, she had to admit that he was a skilled fighter, different from how those punks fought in huge numbers, as they didn't have the real skill to hold their own.

Still, she didn't like him.

Who cared if the girls from the other classes were swooning over him whenever he walked down the corridors surrounded by his usual group of friends?

Who cared if he was rather popular with the general population of their class, inclusive of the girls who weren't the type to swoon over any guy who came their way?

_She_ definitely didn't.

That was the end of the relatively interesting part of her week. Now, for the infuriating part:

Tatsuki still could not get over the fact that Abarai Renji had defeated her in a fight.

In all her years in school, be it primary school or high school, she had been the undefeated champion at judo or any sort of fight. She had only lost once, which was at the finals of the Nationals. However, Tatsuki was pretty confident that she was a great fighter. And then in came Abarai and proceeded to humiliate her. She decided that their first encounter wasn't an intentional humiliation, but she was sure that as the days went by, Abarai began to take delight in infuriating and annoying her. Needless to say, she _loathed_ it. However, the source of her real infuriation wasn't exactly the redhead. Of course it concerned him, but it wasn't exactly his fault. In fact, she was angry with herself.

Tatsuki had decided a few days ago that getting worked up just because of Abarai and his ways wasn't good for her health and she should stop jumping for his baits and get angry in the process. So for that point, her anger had cooled somewhat, but that wasn't to say that she found Abarai a neutral party. She still disliked him.

Or so she told herself. Despite how annoyed Abarai could make her, she started finding herself getting used to it and even on the brink of enjoying it. It wasn't everyday that there was someone who she could challenge to a fight – verbal or physical – and could put up a good resistance. Or in Abarai's case, be able to defeat her more than once. He was the first obstacle that she hadn't been able to take down with one or two tries and would subsequently tease her because of her inability to do so. Tatsuki found herself liking to face Abarai's challenge, which inadvertently made her notice a little more about Abarai than she would've liked.

This of course caused a lot of complications. And she did not wish to, or_ want to_, acknowledge that she was starting to like the guy… in perhaps a slightly more than friendly way. Their jibes at each other was like a daily occurrence, and when she analyzed it carefully, it seemed more like friendly banter, or perhaps even – Tatsuki never knew she had an over-imaginative mind – like the heated bantering between a boy and a girl who liked each other but just didn't know how to express it.

Tatsuki was suddenly and roughly jerked out of her thoughts as she heard a crash and then a tinkling sound of glass falling onto her study table. She rapidly sat upright on her bed, ready to attack if it was a person who had caused her window to break.

However, nothing prepared her for whom she saw.

Abarai Renji was crouching on her study table, looking totally unfazed by it.

* * *

**The prologue is done! Yay! My first multi-chaptered short story for the animanga BLEACH! Well, this is a fairly new pairing, hope all you readers will like it! Thank you!**

**_carzla_**


	2. Unexpected

_**The Will To Protect**_

_Chapter 1: Unexpected_

**From the Prologue…**

_Tatsuki was suddenly and roughly jerked out of her thoughts as she heard a crash and then a tinkling sound of glass falling onto her study table. She rapidly sat upright on her bed, ready to attack if it was a person who had caused her window to break._

_However, nothing prepared her for whom she saw._

_Abarai Renji was crouching on her study table, looking totally unfazed by it.

* * *

_

Renji knew the moment when Tatsuki got over her shock at his sudden intrusion to her room. It was easy. A minute ago, she was staring wide-eyed at him, shock written all over face as clear as day. As for now…

"**_Abarai!_** What do you _think_ you're doing! _Barging_ into my room like that!" Tatsuki yelled. She thanked the heavens that her mom was away, visiting a sick relative for the weekend. If her mom had walked in on them, she was in deep shit.

"Shut up, Arisawa-"

"Why are you dressed up like that? Making a fashion statement!" Tatsuki cut Renji off as she noticed his unusual attire – all black traditional robes and a katana slung across his waist. He looked like he had just stepped out of an ancient samurai story.

"I've got better things to do then make a fashion statement!" Renji growled, an eyebrow twitching in annoyance, "Such as saving you!" It was at times like this that he wondered why he was becoming rather fond of the girl. Meh. She was a spitfire almost every second of the day!

Tatsuki stared at the redhead in sheer disbelief, her amazement over his choice of clothing forgotten in an instance. "Saving me? Ha! I could take you on myself and win! You're the one that'll need saving!"

Renji suppressed a frustrated groan as he stood up and leapt off her table, landing neatly on the floor. At this rate, Tatsuki would, undoubtedly, be caught in the intense crossfire when the Allankar finally reached her house. He could already sense the evil presence getting closer by the second. He couldn't waste precious time arguing with her. "Listen, Arisawa. Run as far as you can from your house. _Now._"

She continued to stare back at him blankly before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you planning to do? And what makes you think _you, _of all people, can order me around, Abarai?"

This time, Renji let out an audible groan of utter frustration at the black-haired girl and brought a hand to cover his face. "Can't you just listen and trust me this once, Arisawa? This is for your own safety!"

How in the world was he going to make her listen to him without explaining everything to her and making sure that she would believe him? More importantly, if she didn't move soon, the Allankar would arrive very, very soon. If she didn't leave soon, he was going to have to forcibly drag her away… to, to somewhere safe. Wherever that place was, he would decide later. What mattered now was that Tatsuki was _not_ in her neighborhood, much less her house!

However Renji had no more time to deliberate for at that moment, the Allankar arrived, entering through the window too. Tatsuki was once again shocked, but now at the appearance of the person who had entered. He had a _hole _in the middle of his torso, and was also wearing the traditional robes that she thought _nobody_ would ever wear on a normal day. Vaguely she wondered why people were taking a liking to entering her room via her window tonight and in such strange costumes too.

"What the hell? Another one I'm going have to kick out of my house?" she growled as her shock changed into annoyance.

"_Shit!_" Renji cursed under his breath, his eyes keeping both Tatsuki and the Allankar in sight. He had drawn out Zabimaru and was holding it in a battle-ready stance, preparing to leap into battle at the slightest provocation.

The Allankar appeared not to have heard Tatsuki or Renji and it gave a malicious smirk, casting blank eyes around the room. "Ah… This is perfect! A shinigami and another to boot. It's the _perfect_ meal!"

"_S-Shinigami?"_ Tatsuki exclaimed in surprise. _Death God? What sort of a joke is this?_

"_This_ is what I meant by saving you," Renji said pointedly to Tatsuki as he inclined his head towards the humanoid Hollow slightly. "And I'll explain everything to you later!"

As if they were cued by an invisible director, Renji and the Allankar charged at each other simultaneously, zanpakutous in front of them both. There was a resonating clash of metal as they became locked stalwartly in the middle of the room, each glaring hatefully at each other, possibly hoping to kill the other by mere gazes.

"Since this will be our first _and_ last meeting," sneered the Allankar, "I'd like to know the name of the shinigami I'm going to defeat."

Renji snorted, "You're the one who's going down, Allankar. But you'd do better if you remembered the name of the man who killed you." With a short pause, he smirked and then added, "Abarai Renji, _Vice Captain_ of the Sixth Division."

The smirk on the Allankar's face widened at Renji's words. "Ah… that's _brilliant!_ A vice captain! I will truly enjoy myself when I decimate you." There was another metallic clash as it broke the contact between the zanpakutous.

"Oh really? I think you won't find it so brilliant very, _very_ soon."

Tatsuki watched the verbal exchange with a bewildered expression on her face. She didn't understand what Renji and that weird person were talking about. They sounded so much like nonsense… like things she would only hear coming from Orihime due to her imaginative mind. Shinigamis? Vice captain of the Sixth Division? Allankar?Despite her confusion at the current situation, her initial wariness of Renji's sudden appearance had worn away and somehow, inexplicably, she believed that he had really wanted to keep her from harm.

Which was probably in the form of the strange man for Renji hadn't seemed too surprised at his arrival. That man seemed to be after her, for what reasons she didn't know. What Tatsuki understood clearly, however, was that she _wasn't _going to let anyone fight her battles! That said, she was going to fight the intruder regardless of what Renji had been telling her to do: run.

"Arisawa, what are you doing! Run!" Renji suddenly shouted as he suddenly felt that Tatsuki's spiritual pressure started to flare and turn offensive… like the times when they were involved in physical fights. Which meant only one thing: she was going to join this battle. _Damn it!_

"You should know by now that I _never_ run from fights, Abarai."

"Damn it, Arisawa! This isn't a simple fight! It can cost you your _life_! Are you going to take such a risk!" God, he thought she had more sense than that!

By this time, Tatsuki had already leapt at the Allankar, ready to deliver a series of crushing blows. However, her attempt was thwarted as the Allankar sent her flying with a flick of its wrist as it suddenly released a powerful blast reiatsu. Tatsuki was slammed ruthlessly against the wall of her room. All this while, the Allankar was still locked in combat with Renji. Renji knew he shouldn't underestimate the being before him, but he spared a glance at Tatsuki, who had just staggered to her feet, rubbing her left arm that had impacted against the wall first.

"Tsk. Tsk. You should've ran when your friend told you to, girl. You won't even be a warm up for me!" the Allankar mock-lectured. "I'll deal with you _after_ I finish him off, so don't interfere!"

Tatsuki snarled as she clenched her fists tightly, her dark glare trying to stare holes into the face of the Allankar. _Nobody_ would live after belittling her. Although she knew that the intruder was strong and had some sort of strange powers, she would _not_ back down. She would prove that she was no little girl! She took a step forward and positioned herself into a fighting stance.

"Stop it Arisawa! Are you trying to get yourself _killed_?" Renji yelled in disbelief, worry and exasperation. If they both survived this, he was going to have to revise his view on Arisawa Tatsuki – pronto. Contrary to what the others thought, she was _not _a rational person. That much he was very, very certain now.

"Shut up, Abarai! You can't stop me!"

_On the contrary, I think I can…_ Renji thought, but he made sure not to voice it out. As Tatsuki made another rush for the Allankar, Renji jumped and positioned himself between her trajectory and the Allankar. At the same time, he slashed at the Allankar who blocked. Renji scowled. The Allankar was stronger than most Hollows; he had better make sure Tatsuki never got herself entangled in the midst. He had a feeling that although he had a limit to how much of his power he could use, when the time came, he probably would have to release his bankai.

Tatsuki managed to skid to a stop as she saw that Renji was in her way. Damn him! Did he take her for a weakling? Had he forgotten that the last time they fought, she had almost gotten one up on him! Well, if he had, she was going to make sure he wouldn't continue to forget it! She jumped, flipped over Renji and managed to land a strike on the Allankar as she had taken it by complete surprise.

This time, the Allankar was angry and irritated instead of amused at Tatsuki. With a lightning fast move, it had moved in front of Tatsuki, a hand poised to strike with a deadly orb of spiritual power. "_Die!_"

Feeling an enormous force pressing onto her, Tatsuki fell to her knees, perspiration running down her face. _What's this pressure? I… I can barely breathe…_ She could see, though unfocusedly, a crackling ball of menacing energy forming on the Allankar's palm and braced herself for the blow, closing her eyes tightly. She felt a breeze swoosh past her and then a small beam of energy hit her and she skidded backwards. Strangely, the blow didn't feel too harsh and she opened her eyes to see what had happened.

Renji had stepped in and used his katana to deflect the orb of energy.

Tatsuki realized with a start that Renji had a menacing, deadly glare directed at the Allankar. She had never seen him so angry before. He looked… _murderous. _She swallowed slightly. Despite the number of times he had beaten her in a fight, she had never been the least bit afraid of him. Now, sitting in the shadow of his towering form, Tatsuki realized that Renji had the means to kill if he wanted to… and now it truly seemed like he was going to do so to the strange, half-masked Allankar – whatever that was – that had a somewhat displeased look.

He was fuming inside as well as over his head with worry for her. Renji had had it with Tatsuki. Why couldn't she listen to him? Damn it! If he was going to have to resort to using _kidou_ to stop her from getting involved in this fight, he jolly well would with no regrets! This girl was driving him crazy with her stubbornness.

Wait a minute.

Come to think of it, it _was_ a good idea…

While Renji knew he was no expert in the Demon Arts since he preferred hand-to-hand combat (and he used to be in the Eleventh Division too), he knew that even the most basic binding spell would easily hold Tatsuki in place. She was just a human and the amount of spiritual power she had paled a lot in comparison to Ichigo. Which meant it would prevent her from getting injured… or at least lessen the chances than when she leapt headfirst into the fight. He was going to make sure that the Allankar never got to hurt her. It would have to _kill_ him before it could get near Tatsuki. Renji knew that his promise to himself was somewhat broken considering Tatsuki's irritatingly obstinate nature, but it didn't hurt to make sure that the promise did not completely disintegrate.

"Arisawa, I don't care if you'll kill me for this later. It's for your own safety…" Renji started, although his eyes had not left the Allankar. He stretched out one of his hands towards Tatsuki. "Way of Binding, Number 1. First Restraint – Obstruction!"

Tatsuki had no time to fully comprehend what was happening when she suddenly felt her arms snap to her back, an invisible force holding them in place. She tried to get up from her kneeling position and found that her legs too were almost immobilized and it was tiring to try and get up. Had Renji just cast a spell of on her? Was she _really _awake or had she fallen asleep amidst her musings?

"Now, we can get down to business," Renji muttered, inwardly relieved that Tatsuki hadn't tried breaking the spell by force, as it would've caused her destruction and that she didn't start cursing him into oblivion. She seemed to be in a daze. _Probably wondering if she's in reality or not. There's going to be a lot to explain later on…_

"Howl, Zabimaru!" As he said the release command, Renji skimmed his hand over the surface of his zanpakutou. Zabimaru glowed red and its form shifted to the fang-like blades.

The Allankar eyed the transformed zanpakutou, the annoying smirk still on its face. Apparently, the shikai form of Zabimaru didn't faze it the least bit. Renji decided that it was just too overconfident of its newfound abilities. When he wanted to protect something, or someone, he went all out to do so. He had almost lost Rukia back then, this time he wasn't going to lose another person who was beginning to worm her way into his heart.

The relatively small room was soon filled with noises of metallic clashes, ripping of cloth and the sickening sound of sharp metal piercing through vulnerable flesh. The high amount of spiritual pressure released was starting to crack the floor tiles and the walls. Even the lamps in the room were beginning to flicker unsteadily in the presence of such power. Tatsuki's room looked like a place where a tornado had just raged through before it had been given time to recover from a bloody war.

* * *

**Twenty minutes later…**

"Well, looks like you aren't so weak after all," the Allankar said with a smirk.

Both parties were almost equal in terms of the seriousness of injuries sustained. Both had numerous slashes and wounds on their bodies. Part of their clothing had also torn off due to the sword attacks. All in all, both parties seemed to have just stepped out of a war zone. However, this war had not ended and didn't seem to be ending very soon too. Neither party was on the brink of death… and this fight would only end with at least a death.

"Heh. Then you aren't _that _strong as you claimed."

The Allankar merely smiled slyly and then suddenly it was behind Renji. Renji whirled around to block the strike with a snarl. As the blade was deflected, the Allankar jumped up and righted itself, floating in midair. Then it hurtled downwards and positioned the tip of its zanpakutou towards… Tatsuki. Its previous move was just a distraction. This human girl seemed to hold some importance to the shinigami it was fighting. Then by all means, it should exploit this weakness.

"_Shit!_" Renji cursed as he realized his mistake. He dashed towards Tatsuki, who had a terrified expression on her face. She was still bound by the Demon Arts, which Renji quickly released the hold. Damn. He wasn't going to make it in time… _Dodge! _Renji mentally urged.

There was a loud explosion a moment later and Renji used Zabimaru to shield his face. The impact was from the hit was strong. Had anyone been caught in it… he'd be _dead_. Renji waited anxiously for the smoke and dust to clear. There was a hole in the wall, other than that, the Allankar and Tatsuki seemed to be gone. His throat went very dry.

Unexpectedly, he heard a cough towards his right side and turned to take a look. To his greatest relief, it was Tatsuki. Other than the dust on her, she looked fine. Without thinking twice, Renji went over to her side to check on her. From up close, Tatsuki had just some minor bruises and cuts, which Renji guessed was from the explosion just now. He was glad that she had enough sense to dodge when he released the binding spell.

"Oi. Are you okay, Ta- Arisawa?" he asked, trying to sound like he wasn't very worried. He mentally cursed his near slip of tongue.

Tatsuki looked up at the sound of Renji's voice being so close to her. She was about to answer him when she saw a flash of movement behind the redhead. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized what it meant. "Look out! Behind-"

_SLASH!_

Tatsuki watched in horror as Renji's pupils dilated and he lurched forwards onto her. Following that, there was a sickening sound of a large slash wound from his right shoulder to his mid-torso opening and blood splattering out, staining its immediate surroundings. She tentatively touched his robes and her hand came away wet with fresh blood.

"Ren- Abarai! Are you okay? _Answer me!_" She shook him as gently as she could, hoping to force a reaction out of the severely injured redhead. Damn it! If he died, she'd have a guilty conscience on her hands… that was if she didn't die in time to feel the guilt.

There was a small cough from Renji that shook his body a little. Tatsuki looked at his face and saw a hint of a smirk. Then he spoke, "Don't w-worry about me. I won't die so easily…"

Had the situation not been so serious, Tatsuki would've smacked Renji for his cockiness. Instead she settled for just glaring at him… but she knew that through her glare, it conveyed her concern and worry for the redhead.

Slowly, Renji got to his feet, using Zabimaru to support himself slightly. He willed himself not to sway. Despite his words to Tatsuki, he knew that he had to end this fight quickly if they both were to have any chance of leaving alive. Although the Soul Society law forbade it, Renji decided that this was the time to throw away the rules. He was going to release his bankai. Any other consequences that came with it later, he was going to ignore them for now. He faced the Allankar, determined to wipe that smirk of its face.

With his back towards her, Renji said solemnly, "Arisawa, sorry about your house."

Tatsuki was somewhat confused. So far it was only her room that was thrashed… However she had no time to question further.

"**BANKAI!**"

There was a massive release of spiritual pressure. The whole house shook before the world went white…

* * *

**I must say I'm pleasantly surprised that so many people reviewed. Plus, they all loved it! RenjixTatsuki is pretty new. Glad that all the responses were all positive. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you really made my day! Hope you'll also enjoy this chapter! **

**_carzla_**


	3. Explanations

_**The Will To Protect**_

_Chapter 2: Explanations_

**From Unexpected…**

_Slowly, Renji got to his feet, using Zabimaru to support himself slightly. He willed himself not to sway. Despite his words to Tatsuki, he knew that he had to end this fight quickly if they both were to have any chance of leaving alive. Although the Soul Society law forbade it, Renji decided that this was the time to throw away the rules. He was going to release his bankai. Any other consequences that came with it later, he was going to ignore them for now. He faced the Allankar, determined to wipe that smirk of its face._

_With his back towards her, Renji said solemnly, "Arisawa, sorry about your house."_

_Tatsuki was somewhat confused. So far it was only her room that was thrashed… However she had no time to question further._

"_**BANKAI!**"_

_There was a massive release of spiritual pressure. The whole house shook before the world went white…

* * *

_

Tatsuki gasped at the amount of power released as she pressed herself as close to the foot of her bed as she could. The power was choking her, pressing harshly against her petite form. To make things worse, she couldn't see anything with the blinding light. What was going on? What was this 'bankai' thing? She was very confused and the light didn't do anything to lessen it. It only served to increase her forming migraine.

Finally, the light dissipated and she understood what Renji's apology meant. The unusually high amount of power released had completely blown off the roof of her house as well as demolished almost all of the walls of the second story. There were also many dents in the floor of her room. She had a feeling that even the first level walls would collapse soon. What in the world did Renji do to cause such destruction?

Then, she _saw_.

In the middle of her room, was a colossal, _monstrous_, coiling skeletal snake-like object with a wild mane and a skull for a head. It gave a menacing growl. And in the middle of the coiling thing, stood Renji. He looked as unfazed as ever from what she could see, considering that the release of power had caused his hair tie to snap and his red hair was now falling over his face. In his hand held something like a sword's guard and it was connected to the huge skeleton-snake. Tatsuki realized, feeling rather faint all of a sudden, that the monstrous _thing_ before her was Renji's katana that had somehow transformed.

"Oh? So you released your bankai. Afraid to lose without it?" taunted the Allankar.

Renji's only response was a slight narrowing of his eyes before he lashed out at the Allankar with Hihiou Zabimaru. Despite the massive size, his bankai moved rapidly in the direction of the Allankar and struck it down, injuring it severely. Though, at the same time, a large portion of the remaining second level of the Arisawa house was demolished too.

"I see you don't look too well," Renji sneered at the injured Allankar. "Well, I think I can put an end to your misery. _Sayonara!_" There was a final loud bang, as Hihiou Zabimaru cut through the Allankar from its head. The Allankar gave a strangled cry as it disintegrated.

Renji smiled slightly. It was finally over. He returned Hihiou Zabimaru to its sealed form and turned to Tatsuki. His vision blurred and his knees suddenly went weak. _Damn._ He collapsed to one knee and crouched there, chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath. They had to evacuate. Where the Allankar once lay, was now a large hole that seemed to be growing due to the numerous cracks on the floor. The house would come down on them any moment. Then he felt an arm go mid-way around his shoulders and another hand on his left arm, gently supporting him.

"I guess I wasn't wrong about you. You _are _a showoff," Tatsuki chided as she helped Renji stand. Somewhere during the battle, Tatsuki had started to worry about him to no end. Now, she was thankful that he was still alive.

Renji chuckled softly, knowing that there was no ill intent behind her words. "And you're still a stubborn mule."

"We seem to finally agree on something."

"Hmm, I suppose. Look, we need to leave this place. It's going to collapse any moment."

Tatsuki looked around. The stairs were demolished. There was no way they could get away from the second floor, much less the house itself. "How are we going to do that? The-"

Suddenly, she was swooped up into Renji's arms and he then proceeded to leap from the mess that she once called home to the rooftop of the opposite house. Tatsuki blinked before trying to suppress a blush. Even though she wasn't interested in getting into a relationship with a guy for the moment (or so she liked to think), being pressed so… _intimately_ against Renji's chest was proving to be very awkward. But she'd be damned to admit out loud that it was comfortable too. Although she had suspected that he had tattoos over his body, Tatsuki never thought she'd find out with her own eyes. She quickly averted her eyes from his toned chest and tried not to think about her current position… and how he looked great with his hair down… _Get a grip on yourself Arisawa!_

"W-What are you doing, Re- Abarai?" It didn't fail to dawn on Tatsuki that this was the _second_ time she had almost called Renji by his given name. What was happening to her?

"What do you think? Escaping the ruins of your house and taking you to somewhere safe," Renji replied gruffly, ignoring, to the best of his ability, the way she was currently snug against him. _All right Abarai, you've carried Rukia in this manner before. This is **no** different from that time. _He squashed the irritating voice at the back of his mind that was trying to tell him that since he was carrying _Tatsuki_, and not Rukia, it made _all _the difference.

There was silence for a long time as Renji continued to leap from roof to roof and running on overhead wires to head to their destination. Tatsuki took the opportunity to take a look at her surroundings. It wasn't everyday where she could get a bird's eye view of Karakura Town for free. Everything looked so peaceful, it was difficult to believe that, just minutes ago, she was at the scene of a bloody battle. The whole town looked so normal that it seemed surreal that she was flying above the rooftops, being carried by someone who was highly likely a spirit and not a human. The silence continued for a few more moments before Tatsuki tentatively broke it.

"Eh, Abarai?" Tatsuki started, making sure that she said his surname. "Why did you save me?"

"It's a shinigami's duty to protect the innocent from Hollows or Allankars," he responded.

"Oh…" What was the deal with this shinigami, Hollow and Allankar thing? "But… you still didn't need to risk your life for me… So, why?"

Renji made sure he kept his eyes straight ahead of him and forced his heartbeat to maintain its normal rhythm. He had no idea how to answer her question. "I'm just doing my job, T-Arisawa. Just like the others. Now, shut up. We're almost reaching."

True enough, within Renji's range of vision, he spied Urahara's Store, which was free of any Allankars. Urahara and Yoruichi had defeated the Allankar. From what he could see, there were other people present too. And if the fight hadn't rattled his senses, they were Rangiku, Hitsugaya and Orihime. In a minute's time, Renji landed back onto the ground in front of Urahara's Store. He carefully let Tatsuki back on to her feet, making sure she was standing properly before letting go. She had landed into another state of shock upon landing her gaze onto those present. _Nothing to be surprised about_, he decided. _After all, it isn't everyday you find out that the new transfer students in your class are all Death Gods._

"Tatsuki-chan! Renji-kun!" Orihime called as she ran over to the newly arrived duo. As the distance between them closed, she cried out in shock, "Renji-kun! What happened?"

"Nothing, Inoue-san. I'm fine." The irony quickly set in as he suddenly coughed up blood and his vision started to swirl.

"Yeah, right. You're _fine,_" the sarcastic voice of Tatsuki (that was masking her concern) filtered into his ears as he felt the said girl and Orihime steady him. He winced slightly as Orihime's fingers unintentionally brushed the deep wound the Allankar had inflicted on him.

"Ah! Sorry, Renji-kun! Sorry!" Orihime hastily apologized as she adjusted her grip on the injured redhead.

"It's okay…"

Together, Tatsuki and Orihime carefully guided Renji over to where Yoruichi and two of Urahara's employees were tending to Rangiku's wounds. Renji was rather shocked to see Rangiku unconscious. Hitsugaya had most of his wounds bandaged, although his robes had bloodstains all over them. The Tenth Division Captain was currently hovering near where his Vice Captain lay, and if Renji squinted, he thought he could make out a slightly worried look in the white-haired boy's expression.

"Abarai-san, you're back. I was wondering if I had to look for you," Urahara's voice floated to his ears.

Renji merely grunted as he sat down. He had barely any energy left, having used up a good portion when he released his bankai to take down the Allankar and when he carried Tatsuki away from her house. His whole body ached, like a million blades had sliced into him. Much like when he faced off against Captain Kuchiki. Renji had ignored all his pain while leaving Tatsuki's house, and now they seemed to return with a vengeance, as if wanting to make him regret overlooking them for the slightest instance. Life was _such_ a bitch at times. He was tempted to fall into slumber, but he didn't want to run the risk of going into a coma.

"Lie down," Tatsuki said as she kept her back towards him, "You're badly injured." She had a lot of questions in her mind; the most important at the moment was why Orihime – of all people – was involved in this bizarre mess.

"Don't worry, Renji-kun! I'll fix you up!" Orihime said in her usual cheerful and enthusiastic voice as she sat herself next to her injured shinigami. "Now, now lie down!" Her smile brightened as her 'patient' obliged.

"How are you going to do that, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked curiously. She knew Orihime could see spirits, but that didn't mean that she could do anything more… Right?

Orihime merely smiled pleasantly as one of her teal-colored flower-shaped hairclips shone with an orange light. Then two fairy-like beings appeared around her and the blonde-haired one flew in front of Tatsuki.

"Hello, Tatsuki-chan! I'm Shonon and that's Ayame! We're Orihime's special powers. We help to heal!" With a smile, Shonon then turned and along with Ayame, formed an orange-colored shield around Renji, starting the healing process.

"Why do they feel so familiar?"

"Mm…? Perhaps it's because I've used them to heal you before, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime replied cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. "Come on, Tatsuki-chan! Don't look so gloomy!"

Tatsuki forced a smile for Orihime's benefit and returned to gazing at the sight before her. Everything was happening all at once and it was a hard pill for her to swallow. So Renji, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya were all shinigamis… Did that mean they were ghosts? Orihime had special powers. There were things called Hollows and Allankars that threatened the safety of humans… What else was there to all of this? Were any more people she knew going to appear? If any more _did _show up, Tatsuki knew she would get a serious headache.

"Kurosaki-kun! Sado-kun! Kuchiki-san! Thank goodness you're all okay!"

Yep. Tatsuki was feeling her headache coming along very nicely.

"Inoue, nothing happened to you right?" came the gruff, but concerned, voice of Ichigo.

"I'm fine Kurosaki-kun! Rangiku-san and Hitsugaya-kun protected me. But Rangiku-san is badly injured… Ah, Renji-kun and Tatsuki-chan are here too!"

"_Tatsuki!_" Ichigo exclaimed. Even Sado looked a bit surprised.

Rukia snorted slightly. "You shouldn't be too surprised. After all, your ability to detect spiritual auras of those around you isn't the best."

"**OI! **What's that supposed to mean!"

Tatsuki eyed the newly arrived trio, noting that Rukia and Ichigo looked very much battered up. Ichigo had blood stained on his robes as well as open wounds that were oozing blood. Rukia didn't look much better. If it were possible, she looked worse off than the orange-haired male. Sado seemed fine, though he seemed to be carrying a heavy air of depression. Tatsuki wondered whether they had been fighting. And if Ichigo was wearing the same robes as Renji, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya… Did that mean that he was a shinigami too? But Ichigo was _alive, _wasn't he? She had known him since they were children… She decided then and there that she would leave all questions until later. A migraine really wasn't what she needed, especially since the after effects of experiencing a high amount of tension were starting to set in.

Instead, she said as calmly as she could, "Hey, Ichigo. You and Kuchiki-san look pretty bruised and battered… you _could_ leave your bickering to later on."

She was too tired to feel surprised when Ichigo and Rukia continued bickering (like an old married couple in her opinion) although they did sit down to allow their wounds to be tended to. She had suspected something was strange about Rukia when she first appeared in their class. Now, everything was proven to her. Tatsuki proceeded to sit too, uncharacteristically pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her forehead on them. She was worn out. Perhaps she could rest until the time came for things to be finally cleared up between them…

* * *

"Tatsuki-chan? Tatsuki-chan, wake up!"

Tatsuki stirred as she felt a hand gently shaking her awake and Orihime's voice coaxing her from the depths of her dream realm. As she blinked and slowly sat up straight, working the kinks out of her back, she wondered when she had fallen asleep. She still felt drained. All the tension earlier had totally worn her out.

"What's happening now, Orihime?"

"Oh, Yoruichi-san left to look for Ikkaku-kun and Yumichika-kun half an hour ago. Urahara-san is going to fill you in on things that will help you understand. Ah… After Yoruichi-san returns, Hitsugaya-kun is going to explain to all of us about everything else. Okay?"

"Um… okay," Tatsuki replied, feeling apprehensive about what she was going to hear.

She surveyed her surroundings. Sado was sitting by himself off in a corner. He seemed more silent and broody than usual. Rukia and Ichigo were next to Hitsugaya. The trio was talking and from their expressions, it was about something serious. Matsumoto was still unconscious. The female was lying on a straw mat that Tatsuki hadn't realized was there earlier. A young dark-haired girl was still tending to the numerous little nicks and cuts on her arms and legs.

As for Renji, he no longer had that orange shield above him. Some of his wounds had disappeared, but the largest wounds were still visible, but somewhat healed. They had been bandaged, but Tatsuki couldn't help but wince slightly as her eyes traced over the bandages that covered the slash wound that started from his right shoulder and ended midway through his torso. She contemplated whether she should walk over to join Renji (though she couldn't help but wonder _why_).

"Arisawa-san?" a voice questioned lightly.

She turned around and saw the blond man with the green-striped hat standing behind her. "Yes… Urahara-san?" she ventured a guess.

"Ah… Inoue-san must have told you. So I can start filling you in?"

Tatsuki nodded and Urahara began his story. Throughout it all, she was captivated by it. If not for what she had seen, it was very unlikely that she would believe what Urahara was telling her. It was much too bizarre for Death Gods to be real. Yet, Tatsuki still did not understand how Ichigo became a shinigami. As far as she could tell, he was very much alive. So, she questioned Urahara.

"Kurosaki-san? He's a special case. Kuchiki-san transferred her powers to him the night they met so both of them, along with his family, would be survive a Hollow attack. Because of complications, Kurosaki-san took almost all of Kuchiki-san's powers. So Kuchiki-san had to reside in a gigai and enter your school to make sure Kurosaki-san did her shinigami duties."

"So _that's_ why he kept disappearing along with Kuchiki-san," Tatsuki muttered. It began to make sense… if supernatural beings made any sense in the first place.

"Yes. That is why." There was a pause before he added, "You might have noticed, Kuchiki-san seemed to have been wiped from everyone's memory for a while. Am I correct?" At Tatsuki's nod, he continued, "She was taken back to Soul Society by Abarai-san and her elder brother. She had committed a crime by transferring her powers to Kurosaki-san."

"Did Ichigo go and rescue her?"

"Obviously. He had chased after her and then rendered himself seriously injured. Prior to this, Kurosaki-san wasn't as strong as he is now. Kurosaki-san then trained with me, regained his powers before leaving for Soul Society to stop Rukia's execution. However, that is another long story, which I will not bore you with."

At that moment, Yoruichi returned. With her were Ikkaku, Yumichika and Keigo. Tatsuki noted with some amusement at the way Keigo was being slung over Ikkaku's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. After hearing Urahara's explanation, she was not that surprised to see them. Though looking at the injuries Ikkaku had… she was impressed that the bald guy could even stand, much less _carry_ Keigo.

"Ah! They're back. Looks like I should go and help," Urahara commented before walking over to the newly arrived people.

After sorting out the two male shinigamis and having Urahara explain the same things to Keigo, Hitsugaya took charge of the situation. He briefly explained the situation in Soul Society before talking about the Allankars and how their powers were greater than captain-level shinigamis. The boy captain also proceeded to announce that there seemed to be cases of shinigamis with Hollows – Viazards – around the area although it was unconfirmed whether they were planning an attack. Tatsuki noted that Ichigo seemed to squirm slightly then and the other shinigamis had briefly glanced at said teenager.

"I advise that someone should stay by Arisawa Tatsuki and Asano Keigo's side when they're out of school. We do not know when and where the next attack will be," Hitsugaya finished.

"Perhaps all of you would like to stay at my humble shop for the night?" Urahara suggested.

"That would be good," Hitsugaya agreed.

"Well, I'm going home. I don't trust Kon being in my body," Ichigo said as he stood up and stretched slightly. "See you around."

"I'm leaving with him too," Rukia announced. "It wouldn't be good if your dad finds out his third daughter is missing," she added slyly to Ichigo, who glared at her in reply.

"Third daughter?" Renji choked out, barely resisting the urge to laugh.

"Don't even _ask_, Renji," Ichigo bit out as he turned his back on the group. "C'mon Rukia. Let's go," he added gruffly. Said female just shrugged, waved goodbye and followed Ichigo down the street, disappearing round the bend moments later.

"Eh… Well… I think I'll go home…" Keigo said, stuttering slightly.

"Good. That means we'll be crashing at your place," Ikkaku said as he too stood up along with Yumichika.

"EH?"

"You didn't forget our agreement, did you?"

"Um… no…"

"Great! Let's go then! I need my beauty sleep, you know."

Watching the trio depart, Tatsuki felt a pang of sympathy for Keigo. She wondered how he was going to explain to his family about Yumichika and Ikkaku… especially the current state of injuries on the duo. Turning her gaze away, Tatsuki looked at the remaining few. Rangiku definitely had to stay at the store. Hitsugaya would too, as well as Renji. Orihime could return to her house… while she herself would have to stay at the store too. Tatsuki couldn't imagine what to do with her house or how she was going to explain to her mother about it. She couldn't say that an evil ghost-monster had attacked her and a huge fight had then taken place when a shinigami came to save her. Nobody would believe her. She probably wouldn't believe it herself had she not experienced it.

In the end, Orihime stayed behind as she thought it'd be safer than if she were to be back home. So she had said when asked. Privately, Tatsuki thought otherwise, but she was glad for it. She didn't really fancy spending the night at some stranger's place with just Hitsugaya, Rangiku and Renji. It wasn't like she knew them _that_ well.

Inside the shop, Urahara had provided them with futons. Tatsuki positioned hers next to Orihime's. Said girl had already fallen asleep. As for Tatsuki, she was merely lying down, not yet falling asleep, as it was a foreign environment. Then she heard some scuffling noises to her left. Glancing to her side, she saw Renji sit down on his futon not too far away.

"You okay, Abarai?" she asked quietly, trying to act casual.

"Hn. I'm fine. Been through a fair share of worse incidents."

"I'm wondering… How are you all going to cover up for what happened to my house?"

"If anyone saw… a few memory replacements will do the trick. And you could always say something blew up… like some of those metallic things…"

"And that'll explain why I'm injury-free? Save some minor cuts and bruises?" Tatsuki retorted sarcastically.

"Get Inoue-san to play along with you… like you were at her house and you didn't know why something blew up…" Renji wondered why he didn't tell the raven-haired female to just shut up and let him sleep. He was definitely feeling tired. Had it been Rukia, he would've done that ages ago. _But she isn't Rukia, is she?_ The same annoying voice from before was back again. Renji growled mentally and tried shutting it out once again.

Tatsuki yawned a little. Yeah… it seemed plausible enough. She could work on that idea tomorrow and get some sleep in the mean time. "Mm… Guess you could be right. I'm going to sleep now… Night."

"Bout' time," Renji muttered. "Night." He half expected Tatsuki to come up with a retort, but all was quiet for a minute.

A few moments later, however, he heard a familiar female voice that was clouded with sleep say, "Mm… R-Renji…? Thanks for… saving… me…"

Renji smiled to himself at the use of his given name. It was probably an unconscious move on Tatsuki's part, but it was definitely a good sign. And when the annoying voice heartily agreed, he didn't bother shutting it out.

When the redhead finally fell asleep, there was a contented smile on his face.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. I was... distracted by other things. The next chapter will be the epilogue. It's just a short little story; I'm not inclined to attempt long ones yet. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**_carzla_**


End file.
